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The key to making the most of your internship

During Meg Delaney’s internship at strategic communications and advisory firm ICR in Midtown in 2012, she expressed her interest in working there full-time to her supervisor — a move that positioned her well two years later when she graduated from Fairfield University.
The 24-year-old Upper East Sider managed to segue her daily responsibilities of morning client coverage reports, brainstorming and identifying trends into a full-time job offer while maintaining school contacts by periodically emailing them just to see how things were going.
She explains, “When I started nearing graduation, I emailed more frequently with my internship supervisor to let her know I was interested in working at ICR post-graduation and to determine if any positions were expected to open.” Delaney was put in touch with the managing director of the tech group and the rest is history: She was hired as an associate in September 2014.
Technically, the internship was similar to an audition. “I looked at my internship as an opportunity to demonstrate my ability to get things done and be a team player with an ‘all hands on deck’ attitude.”
Plus, it was her first time dabbling in working in public relations, so it helped her determine if it was a path worth pursuing. She’s not alone. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, in 2015, 65 percent of bachelor’s degree graduates participated in an internship and/or co-op. The key, in addition to gaining valuable skills and contacts, lies in parlaying an internship into full-time work.
Chuck Garcia, author of “A Climb to the Top” and professor of organizational behavior at Mercy College, says internships are critical to ensuring successful job outcomes after graduation. “Employer expectations have shifted with the luxury to be more selective than ever,” he explains. As a result, they seek recent graduates who demonstrate the ability to effectively perform under pressure. “No college transcript can provide a future employer with that kind of visibility about a candidate.”
Part-time gigs add another type of value-added experience. “Your experience at Starbucks or working as a waitress is stories waiting to be told,” he says. In addition to networking your way internally into management, part-time roles usually involve working with people at multiple levels. “Tell your potential employer how you dealt with adversity. They don’t just want to hear what you did well but the lessons learned—how you turned lemons into lemonade.”
‘I looked at my internship as an opportunity to demonstrate my ability to get things done and be a team player with an all-hands-on-deck attitude.’
- Meg Delaney
Adrianna G. Bevilaqua, chief creative officer at M Booth in Midtown, experienced that first-hand, having waitressed during high school and college. “In hindsight, those jobs taught me more about the business world than structured internships I had.” She quickly learned about customer service, sales and how to troubleshoot, not to mention how to think on her feet. And now, having hired many former interns into full-time roles, she wants them to share those experiences, as well as think strategically above and beyond daily tasks with a fresh perspective.
Not to be overlooked, soft skills are incredibly valuable, notes Peter Shankman of ShankMinds: Entrepreneurial Masterminds, a virtual community of global entrepreneurs. He takes potential interns or hires to lunch before extending a job offer. “How do they interact? Sense of humor? How do they treat the wait staff? If your intern doesn’t fit with your culture, employees will never ask to use them for anything; nobody wins.”
Shankman’s advice for a successful internship? “Have the intern start with an SOP – standard operating procedure, a list of things to do every day.” They’ll get into the business flow instead of wondering what they’re doing there. “Don’t make it just about coffee and dry cleaning runs. The best internships occur when the intern truly learns something and makes valuable connections.”
While learning and relationship-building are important, translating an internship into full-time employment ultimately relies on communication. “If you’re not sure how [the company] feels about you, ask for feedback,” says Garcia. “Don’t wait for that moment to happen. Show you have initiative and let them know what you want.”
Plus, it’s an effective way for employers to make no-brainer hiring decisions. “If you exceeded expectations in the internship,” Garcia explains, “they are confident you’ll bring the same behaviors when you join full-time. Companies immediately seek a return on their investment…they want to minimize risk. The best way to remove that uncertainty is to know the asset they are buying.”
Bevilaqua concurs.“If interviewing is dating, then internships are like moving in together before you tie the knot.”
Source-nypost.
For further assistance related to Internship related queries in India, Dubai or Singapore, please visit: http://www.pursueasia.com

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